Posted by  Russ Palermo on August 25, 2003 at 13:35:37:

In Reply to:  ArchWeek - Crafting Concrete Countertops posted by Kevin Matthews on May 28, 2003 at 20:05:48:

Like many folks, I read the book and was hooked on concrete countertops. So much so that I threw everything aside 6 months ago and started a concrete countertop business.

I found this book to be informative, but there is sooooo much more to discover about concrete and available ad-mixtures - aggregate sizes, slump, slurry, forms and molding, curing, how it behaves, how it stains, how it polishes, on and on. Almost 6 months of research, long conversations with "old-timers" in the biz, dozens of batches, and literally hundreds samples and I am just getting comfortable with what can be done and how to do it. Concrete countertops are not a DIY project - this is an area where experience trumps. Cheng mught do too good a job of simplifying the process and I'm afraid ambitious weekend warriors will be sorely disappointed when they give it a go.

I highly recommend Cheng's book to get a very good idea of what you can accomplish, but I do not recommend going it alone. If anything, find a local fabricator working out of his/her garage and pick their brains, work some sort of co-op deal with them and get ready to ruin a few sets of clothes!

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